The Life of Catherine de' Medici
by LaurenBelgium
Summary: This story is about Catherine de' Medici. Her arrival at French Court, her marriage to Henry de Valois, her status as Queen of France, her children and much more. There will be things that are based on Reign, so...
1. Chapter 1

**The Beginning**

Florence, Italy. It was 13 April 1519 when there was this little Italian girl born. Her parents called her Catherina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de' Medici, Catherine de' Medici in short form. Her parents died a month after her birth so she was officially an orphan. Her parents were good friends with the King of France. They stayed a lot in the royal chateau's and were always welcome at French Court. When King Francis heard the rumors about the birth of Catherine and the death of her parents' death, he wanted the little baby in French Court to be raised as the wife of his son Prince Henry but Catherine's cousin the pope Clement had other plans for her. He wanted to raise her himself. The power of de' Medici's were only growing and so was their wealth and money. They were now known as the rulers of Florence. When the little Catherine was only eight years' old the Florentine castle was under attack by rivals of the pope. Catherine was hold as a hostage and was placed in convents, under their protection of course.

The eight-year-old, wasn't having the time of her life, she was still in prison and needed to wait every night to be "shared" by the soldiers who had took over the whole city. Every night she laid in bed, curled up and crying. She hated her life, she hated herself, she was disgusted by her own body and mind. After three long dark years, the troops of the pope they had retaken the city and pope Clement welcomed Catherine again in his arms. It was time to find a husband for her so he contacted King Francis again. Gold of de' Medici's for French troops, that was the deal. King Francis agreed to the pope and asked to send her when she was sixteen years old. In the meantime, Catherine was raised in the Florentine palace, her home and it will always be her home. There were a lot of candidates for the hand of Catherine de Medici, but King Francis wanted her and he would get her for his son. Prince Henry wasn't the dauphin of France but still very important for the future.

 **The Meeting.**

She sighed, it was already five days that she was stuck in this carriage. The road was horrible and they weren't on the main road anymore. After these woods, was the French Court, her new home. Catherine was totally stressed out, in a few moments she would met her future husband, the Prince of France and she would meet her father in law. How would her husband be? Would he be lovable and could she possibly please him? Catherine knew that she was small and tiny, the opposite of her father who was a mighty man. No time to think about that, she already saw the castle walls and they were so big, she couldn't even imagine the Florentine palace anymore. She started to breath faster and faster but she needed to be as stunning as ever. At that very moment, the carriage stopped and heard the trumpets who announced her arrival. It looked like the whole Court was waiting for her and she couldn't breathe easily. It was almost like some knifes were hold by her neck and she was suffocating. It wasn't the time to think about her past, it was time to move on and start over. Pope Clement had promised her a beautiful marriage, Henry would never let her down. He had promised that. She wore a beautiful green dress with golden jewels, special for this occasion. The door opened and she looked for a moment outside. There was the King and Queen in the middle of the attention except for Catherine. Beside the King, there were two sons of him. One would be her husband but she didn't know which one, she didn't even see him on a portrait or something. After a few moments, she put herself together and stepped out of the carriage. People were gasping by her beauty but she was too stressed to notice. She walked to the royal family and bowed.

'Your Highness.' She simply said.

'Catherine, I'm glad that you arrived safely.' The King answered and looked at her.

'Meet my oldest sons. The dauphin of France, Francis and the Prince and your husband to be, Henry.'

He announced them both. Henry was younger but taller than his brother. Catherine looked at them both and curtsied in front of the family again. She heard someone stepping forward to her and felt a hand on hers. She looked up and saw her husband to be taking her hand. He planted a gently kiss on the back of her hand.

'It is an honor to meet you, your majesty.' She said politely.

'Please, call me just Henry, your grace.'

'Then you can call me Catherine as well.' She answered.

They smiled both at each other. It wasn't that bad, she thought. He took her hand and walked her inside, she was silent and speechless by the view of the castle. There were many portraits of the family and some art. When they came in the throne room, there stood some lady's, four to be exactly.

'May I present you, these will be your ladies. If you need something, you can call them.' Henry said. She nodded.

'Thank you, your maje… Henry.' He smiled back at her and gave the lady's the order to get her settled in.

Catherine had made a long journey and she was tired. The ladies joined her to her chambers. There were these beautiful red tapestries with the Fleur de Lis on it, the symbol of France. Everything that was in her chambers, was big and layered with gold.

'Do you want something, mylady?' One of the girls asked.

'Aren't you supposed to be my subjects?'

'Yes, your grace.'

'I want you to know better. Tell me something about me.'

'I am Charlotte, your grace. This is Margaret, Denise and Janet.' She told her and they all curtsied.

'It is nice to meet you, but I am really tired. Could you ready me a bath please?' She asked.

'Of course, it will be ready any time.'

They bowed again and left Catherine in my new room, her new home, the French Court.

I went to the wardrobe and opened it, the dresses were the most beautiful things she has ever seen. All with gold and the jewels were full of diamonds and other gems. Her breath was taken away again. She heard a small knock on the door.

'Come in.'

'Your grace, your bath is ready. Do you need something else?'

'No thank you, you can go.'

After Catherine had taken a bath, she went to sleep. When she laid alone, she thought about everything that had happened today. Would it all turn out okay? She doubted it but she needed to enjoy this. Enjoy that she was safe, safe in the embrace of the French people. Tomorrow would be an introducing to the nobles and little feast for her arrival.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2.**

AN: Thank you all for reading this stuff, my apologies for updating this late. Please review, then I can make this story more interesting for you.

Catherine woke up late by the sun shining through the windows and the birds whistling freely. They hadn't any problems and didn't need to wake up for a whole court watching and waiting for you to go down. Prince Henry was very kind to her yesterday but maybe it was just to keep her from running back to Italy or not to scare her off on their first meeting. Catherine came back to earth when she heard a knock on her door.

'My Lady?' A sweet and gentle voice of one of her ladies asked.

'Come in.' Catherine said loud enough for her but quiet enough so nobody else would hear her.

Her lady Charlotte entered her chambers and placed a tray of food on her desk and bowed to the future Dauphine of France.

'Can I help you to get ready for the day?' She asked.

'No thank you, Charlotte. You may leave.' Catherine said as she walked over to the tray to get a few grapes. Catherine always liked to dress herself, she was used to it when she was captured in Florence. Back then there was nobody who would help her except for a few servants who cooked for the soldiers, the things that were left on the tray would be for her. She walked over to her new wardrobe and opened it. Her mouth felt open and a hand went to her face. All her old dresses were removed and there was all brand-new stuff in it. New skirts, new corsets, new jewels and even a crown. Never had she ever allowed herself to dream of all these things and she couldn't believe her eyes. When she looked more closely she found a note between her new jewels. What a place to lay jewels in a wardrobe. She thought to herself. She picked it up and started to read.

 _My dear Catherina from Italy,_

 _I hoped you liked our meeting yesterday and hoped that maybe this will show you how much I like you. In the future, we will have a happy life, full of love. We will have the most beautiful children, the most magnificent chambers and our love for each other will grow. I am sure of that when I first saw your hazel eyes and coper curls. We will rule France as a couple in name and in reality._

 _Your future husband,_

 _Henry._

She smiled at his letter. Maybe it won't be so bad at all. She took a red dress with a radiant fabric and some gold and lace. Her hair was partially down and she added a new neckless and earrings from Henry. When she walked out of her chambers, she directly spotted a tall figure and knew already it was her future husband.

'My prince.' She bowed to him.

'Please, I told you you can just call me Henry and there is no need to bow. You are my equal.' Her cheeks turned rosy by his words.

'Of course, Henry. Why are you here if I may ask you? I was on my way to the throne room.'

'I wanted to see you in one of the new dresses and jewels I made for you. You look absolutely wonderful and I would like to ask if you want to come with me to the throne room.' He asked her and she simply nodded when she took his arm. When they arrived at the throne room, they both took a deep breath before walking down the aisle. The crowd went apart for the couple. A few nobles started to whisper about Catherine. Henry wrapped an arm around her waist and she froze for a second. Henry slowed his pace when he came to the Archduke of Boinelle. The Archduke was laughing rather loud and Henry was not satisfied with that.

'Have you seen that Italian girl? Did you see how small she is and her idiotic freckles all over her face and her ugly curls?' He laughed

Henry stopped and started to talk.

'Haha, yes and did you see your wife? How fat she is? I think she can give the court meet for a whole week or even two!' Henry shouted to the man.

The Archduke bowed to his prince and started to stumble. 'My.. my Pr..Prince...wha..what a..an honou.. honour.'

Henry was pissed and wasn't happy with his words.

'I except for you and the rest of court to treat my future wife, dauphine and Queen with respect! She is my equal and will rule beside me. If you have problems with her, you have problems with me! I demand you to bow to her and treat her with respect!' He shouted to the rat before him.

The Archduke was stunned in perplex and bowed graceful and deep for Catherine. Catherine couldn't speak a word and focused her on Henry and gave a gently pinch in his arm.

'It is alright Henry, I'm sure the Archduke of Boinelle was mistaken.' She spoke calmly. Henry's temper got the best of him and gave deadly glares to the Archduke.

'THE NEXT TIME, ANYONE SPEAKS ABOUT CATHERINE DE MEDICI IN THIS WAY, I WILL EXCILE THEM OR HAVE HIS HEAD AND IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT TITLE HE OR SHE HAS!'

Catherine tried to calm him down and went outside with him. King Francis wasn't pleased with his behavior too.

'Henry, there is no need to act so, I'm used to it.'

'But I'm not and nobody will treat my future wife like this.'

Together they stood in silence, not unpleasant as they watched the gardens.

What will the future bring? They both thought to themselves.


End file.
